The Tottenham Hotspur man was challenged to work a lot harder by his manager four years ago.
Tottenham star Jan Vertonghen spoke to reporters today about his relationship with Mauricio Pochettino, and admitted that he and the Argentine didn’t see eye-to-eye initially, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.
The 31-year-old joined Spurs from Ajax in the summer of 2012, for a fee believed to be in the region of £12 million, and he has gone on to establish himself as one of the club’s most important players, making 263 appearances in all competitions in the process.
Vertonghen plays a key role for Tottenham, and his ability to play the ball out from the back is key to everything that Pochettino’s side do.
The Belgium international spoke to reporters today, and admitted that he had to raise his game when Pochettino took over as manager in the summer of 2014, as quoted by the Evening Standard:
“I had an opinion and he definitely had his — he’s the boss. It didn’t take us a very long time to get along and for me to understand what it meant to play as a centre-back in his side. It demanded a lot, especially physically and he made me understand that. He made it clear I wasn’t doing enough. He was right.”
Tottenham are right in the mix in the race for the Premier League title, and are safely through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
If they are to have any chance of winning major honours this season, Vertonghen will have to be on his very best form between now and May.
He is widely considered to be one of the best centre-backs in the world, and he owes Pochettino so much for his evolution into a truly world-class defender.
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